Benefits of Canting?

[Y.L.]

In saber, preference aside, what is the benefit of canting the blade,
whether down, left, or right? I'm a lefty (fencing arm not ideologically
speaking) and have only ever bought complete weapons. When I hold my weapon,
the blade (from the guard) is slightly bend to the right. Thanks for any
input.

Y.L.

[gary hayenga]

Post by Y.L.
In saber, preference aside, what is the benefit of canting the blade,
whether down, left, or right? I'm a lefty (fencing arm not ideologically
speaking) and have only ever bought complete weapons. When I hold my weapon,
the blade (from the guard) is slightly bend to the right. Thanks for any
input.
Y.L.

The benefit of canting the blade, whatever weapon you are using, is that
you can hold your wrist in a natural and stable position and still have
the blade/point already aiming at your generally preferred target area.

A cant is almost always going to be forward/down and in to a greater or
lesser extent. The exact amount depends on how you normally hold your
engarde position. Though there was a Canadian fencer who preferred a
perfectly straight blade with a slight *upward* curvature to it.

gary hayenga

[Harold Buck]

In article

Post by Y.L.
In saber, preference aside, what is the benefit of canting the blade,
whether down, left, or right? I'm a lefty (fencing arm not ideologically
speaking) and have only ever bought complete weapons. When I hold my weapon,
the blade (from the guard) is slightly bend to the right. Thanks for any
input.

For saber, I like to cant my blade so that--when I'm facing my opponent
directly and I'm en garde, and when my guard is also turned toward the
opponent--my blade is more or less aligned with the opponent's head.
That way, if I want to make a head cut, I can just reach straight
forward instead of angling over. I also cant it down a bit, mostly
because people say to.

--Harold Buck


"I used to rock and roll all night,
and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
-Homer J. Simpson

[Y.L.]

Thanks for the info -- I should be able to make better blade choices.

Post by Y.L.
In saber, preference aside, what is the benefit of canting the blade,
whether down, left, or right? I'm a lefty (fencing arm not ideologically
speaking) and have only ever bought complete weapons. When I hold my weapon,
the blade (from the guard) is slightly bend to the right. Thanks for any
input.
Y.L.

[William Marshal]

Just to play spoiler, I don't cant my blades at all and am unconvinced
that doing so offers any advantage more real than imagined. I've
fenced with friends' sabres which had various sorts and degrees of
cant and was unable to detect any superior performance....

[Harold Buck]

Post by William Marshal
Just to play spoiler, I don't cant my blades at all and am unconvinced
that doing so offers any advantage more real than imagined. I've
fenced with friends' sabres which had various sorts and degrees of
cant and was unable to detect any superior performance....

Well, sure, if you don't notice a difference, don't do it. But if people
*think* they're more comfortable with a canted blade, doesn't that count
for something? I mean, comfort is in the eye of the beholder. Or maybe
in this case in the hand of the holder. Something like that.

--Harold Buck


"I used to rock and roll all night,
and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
-Homer J. Simpson

[William Marshal]

Post by Harold Buck
But if people
*think* they're more comfortable with a canted blade, doesn't that count
for something? I mean, comfort is in the eye of the beholder. Or maybe
in this case in the hand of the holder. Something like that.
--Harold Buck

Heh, you mean like a sort of fencing placebo effect? ;)

But seriously, you're right---if something is perceived to help and
doesn't empirically hurt ( do we know that either, though? ) I'd say
why not? For anyone seeking a measurable, proven "edge" ( sorry ) from
canting is going to have to be careful not to get caught on the
tenterhooks of testimonials...

A clubmate of mine, who is also the de facto coach, invariably bends
his tangs in a very specific fashion. Trouble is, every time a novice
buys a sabre, or the club gets in an order of sabre blades, he will
promptly bend every one of them to suit his own tastes, as well. It
becomes a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. No one is ever going to
find out for themselves what feels best to them this way.

[Harold Buck]

Post by William Marshal

Post by Harold Buck
But if people
*think* they're more comfortable with a canted blade, doesn't that count
for something? I mean, comfort is in the eye of the beholder. Or maybe
in this case in the hand of the holder. Something like that.
--Harold Buck

Heh, you mean like a sort of fencing placebo effect? ;)

Exactly. However, I should add "If it doesn't cost anything." Otherwise,
you could say, "Well, that ionized bracelet they advertise could help,
and it couldn't hurt, so I'll get one." The problem is that you're $100
lighter in the wallet for something that doesn't work I'll take my
placebos for free, thank you very much.


--Harold Buck


"I used to rock and roll all night,
and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
-Homer J. Simpson

[David Neevel]

The benefit is not nearly as significant for sabre as it is for foil and
epee. A saber grip rests in the fold of the fingers, which doesn't
run at an angle different from the desired line of the blade as the
thumb-fold does.

-Dave

Post by William Marshal
Just to play spoiler, I don't cant my blades at all and am unconvinced
that doing so offers any advantage more real than imagined. I've
fenced with friends' sabres which had various sorts and degrees of
cant and was unable to detect any superior performance....

[William Marshal]

Post by David Neevel
The benefit is not nearly as significant for sabre as it is for foil and
epee. A saber grip rests in the fold of the fingers, which doesn't
run at an angle different from the desired line of the blade as the
thumb-fold does.

Good point ( as usual ). I daresay that pistol grips especially
dictate some tweaking for the sake of comfort, if nothing else...

But then, as I have spent the last 20 years trying to forget
everything I ever knew about foil and epee, I pretty much have to take
your word for it. :)

[David Brown]

Post by Y.L.
In saber, preference aside, what is the benefit of canting the blade,
whether down, left, or right?

One advantage is that canting a blade in a direction allows it to turn more
easily in that direction. So for a RH fencer a slight cant to the left allows
easier parries of 5 and easier flank cuts. It always feels to me as if Im
fighting the blade when I try to turn it and the blade is straight. A slight
cant also allows the thumb to point straight down the blade, allowing more
accurate edge control, analagous to the reason for a bend in the tang of the
blade at foil and epee. At Sabre I see no reason to cant down, unlike at
foil or epee. As a schoolboy fencer in the 1960s I did have a teacher who
insisted on canting his blade `up'. I never understood why, but it's an
"interesting" feeling to fence with a blade like that.

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Dr. D. C. Brown, AI Research Group, C.S. Dept., WPI, Worcester, MA 01609, USA
[phone] FAX: [phone] ***@cs.wpi.edu http://www.wpi.edu/~dcb/
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